1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to greeting cards, and more particularly to a mailable card which not only conveys a greeting and a message related to the greeting, but also an aroma associated with the occasion for the greeting.
2. Status of Prior Art
A mailable greeting card usually takes the form of a paper folder that fits into an envelope, the front panel of the folder having printed thereon a greeting appropriate to a particular occasion, such as a birthday. The top panel folds over a rear panel on which is printed a message related to the greeting. Thus the front panel may say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and the rear panel, LONG LIFE and GOOD LUCK.
The present invention resides in a mailable greeting card of the above type which not only conveys a message, but also an aroma appropriate to the occasion. Thus an appropriate aroma for a Christmas greeting card is the scent of a X-mas tree.
By way of example, we shall assume that the occasion for a greeting card in accordance with the invention is Valentine's Day. This day which is celebrated annually on February 14, is a holiday in which it is customary to exchange romantic messages, called Valentines. While in the United States, the first Valentine's Day greeting card was produced in 1840, today millions of such cards are sold annually.
When a gentleman personally delivers or has delivered a Valentine's Day greeting card to a lady, it is traditionally accompanied by a gift in the form of a bouquet of roses packaged in a box in which the greeting card is also placed. Thus the aroma of roses is invariably associated with Valentine's Day, not that of any other fragrance, just as the aroma of lilies is associated with Easter but not with any other holiday.
But when a greeting card is mailed to a recipient, then as a practical matter, one cannot include roses in the mailing. Hence a mailed conventional Valentine's Day greeting card falls short of a proper romantic expression of affection.
Since in a greeting card in accordance with the invention, the card supplies an aroma to its recipient by means of plastic material impregnated with a fragrance, of prior art interest is the Spector U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,511. This patent discloses an aroma-generating object in which a plastic film having fine pores therein is impregnated with a volatile liquid fragrance that is exuded from the pores for a prolonged period.
Also of prior art interest is the Spector U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,692 in which a figure formed of foam-plastic material has disposed throughout its cellular structure a volatile liquid fragrance.
The problem which rules out the use of a fragrance-impregnated plastic film or other material with a printed mailable greeting card is that the volatile fragrance exuded from the film or sponge in which the fragrance is stored reacts chemically with printing inks. Because the fragrance attacks or dissolves the inks printed on the greeting card, by the time the card is received, it may not be presentable.